LISTING YOUR HOME FOR SALE BY OWNER: A PELLA REAL ESTATE SERVICES CASE STUDY

Pella Real Estate Services is excited to welcome Sydney Bogaard into the office administrative assistant position. Sydney grew up in the small town of Oxford which is within the Iowa City Metro Area. After high school, she became an Iowa State Cyclone and declared a double major in sociology and criminal justice. Sydney graduated with both of her desired degrees within only three and a half years at Iowa State. After graduation, Sydney pursued her passion in strengthening a large social program, Safe Call Now, which is a 24-hour crisis hotline that serves the frontline of first responders, emergency personnel and their families across the nation. She spent more than three years improving the large program’s social media networks. Now settling into Pella with her husband Blake she’s ready to get back into the slow-pace and peaceful lifestyle that small town Iowa has to offer. She’s excited to join the Pella Real Estate Services team and offer her organizational and administrative skills to the business and to be apart of the continued growth of the brokerage. Sydney knows she won’t have a problem fitting in with the goal-oriented approach which has contributed to the real estate agency’s success and looks to contribute to playing a huge role in what Pella Real Estate Services is focusing on accomplishing as a company, but also for their community. If you’re in the market for a home to buy, sell, or rent, Sydney would be happy to introduce herself. You can reach her by calling the Pella Real Estate Services Brokerage office at 641-628-1BUY.

During the first quarter of 2018 our Real Estate Agent Team has helped buyers/sellers close on 2x more real estate investments than any other Realtor in the six key market areas of Pella, Knoxville, Prairie City, Monroe, Otley, and Sully. We are being rewarded by your residential, business, and acreage needs and as a result are adding new team members to expand our services. In addition to recently adding real estate agent Levi Spain to the brokerage; we are again excited to announce a fourth real estate agent in our office, Nick Olsen. Nick attended Iowa State University and finished his engineering studies in the spring of 2017. In the summer of 2016, Nick was selected for an internship at Vermeer in Pella. Following graduation from Iowa State, Nick once again joined the Vermeer team. As of April 2018, he will concurrently work with Vermeer and Pella Real Estate Services. “I am grateful to work with two outstanding organizations in the Pella area. Vermeer has been a terrific place to land after my time in Ames. I look forward to the many personal connections to come, and the opportunity to be a part of this community’s home experiences.” Growing up, Nick farmed with a local cattle farmer in Atlantic, Iowa. He says that the experience helped him appreciate hard work and the life of a small business owner. He is eager to begin working with Mike and Sarah Buchheit who are exemplary models to this persona. In addition to Mike and Sarah Buchheit, please contact Nick Olsen, or Levi Spain to help with your real estate needs! You can call Pella Real Estate Services Brokerage office at 641-628-1BUY OR Contact Nick directly via phone/text at 712-254-3039 or email: nicko@pres1buy.com

Is the 2018 Pella Seller’s Market an opportunity for you? Pella Real Estate Services here, expanding on some frequently asked questions since our announcement of the Seller’s market opportunity in our key market area. Q: What incentives can Pella Real Estate Services offer to homeowners that are looking are ready to make a change? A: We feel that we offer the most comprehensive approach and line them up with the most qualified buyers that have reached out to us with sellers ready to move on from the current home. Q: Can you share some steps that are apart of Pella Real Estate Service’s comprehensive approach? A: Multifaceted marketing plan for each individual house. Willing to come into your home and offer a free in-home market evaluation. We offer an aggressive discounted commission rate to save you money. We are renovation experts, our real estate professionals have insight if it makes more sense to renovate or sell depending on you and your family’s situation. Q: How can a current homeowner determine if the current seller’s market is the right opportunity for them? A: We’d love to provide a team walk-through of your home. between our real estate professionals, we bring many angles of perspective to work with you to go over options you have. Q: What would you say to local Pella, Iowa residents that are just now hearing about Pella Real Estate Services or the current realty market conditions? A: We are very aggressive about what we are doing to provide information and value to our community. We’ve only been in business for a year and a half and have been successful enough to reinvest in our business. With that, we’ve added friendly and knowledgeable real estate professionals and have become the largest agent team and fastest growing brokerage firm in our market area. If you have any questions of your own, or would like to schedule a Free In-home market valuation, give Pella Real Estate Services a call at 641-924-0255 For more info on the Pella, Iowa Seller’s Market, Click Here.

Pella, Iowa was recently ranked the “second safest city in Iowa” by the National Council for Home Safety and Security . This is among the many factors that contribute to the influx of young professionals and families moving to the area in recent years. Pella’s growth is demonstrated by the month of January’s year-over-year home sale increase of two million dollars. Home sales in 2018 Year-to-Date of Pella Real Estate exceeded $8.98 million, compared to 2017’s $6.7 million, over a 34% increase in sales volume thus far. At the end of February 2018, 28 homes were listed for sale in Pella. Of the available homes, only 6 were below $208,000.00 (the avg. sale price in 2017). Pella Real Estate Services Market Analysis: There were 114 homes sold under 208K in 2017 (averaged 53 days on the market). Very few homes available below 2017 avg. sale price ($208,000) Implication: higher likelihood of a quick sale. Property values appreciating by 7% on average across the community (2017 – $207,629 vs 2016 -$193,969) Implication: continual investment in your home will result in higher ROI after the sale. Sales price vs. list price (97%) If you’re thinking about selling, NOW is a great time: Prospective homeowners are constantly looking for the opportunities to become involved in the Red Rock community because of the great school systems, events, and lifestyles the area has to offer. Low home inventory and high demand create an opportunity for individuals and families who wish to sell their homes. If you are in the market to take advantage of the opportunity to sell your home, call 641-628-1-buy and learn about our discounted commission rates.

Meet Levi Spain Pella Real Estate Services is excited to welcome its newest member, Levi Spain. Levi recently acquired his real estate license and will begin work in January, 2018. He and his wife Emily are Central College graduates of 2014 and have recently moved back to the Pella area. They both look forward to connecting with and living in this great community. While at Central, Levi majored in Business Administration and minored in Entrepreneurship. His entrepreneurial drive has been showcased in Spain Painting, a successful painting operation in his hometown, DeWitt, Iowa. He expects to continue running the business alongside his primary real estate work. Levi spent several high school summers with contractors installing electrical, plumbing, framing and flooring in DeWitt. Someday, he hopes to use these skills to revive distressed properties. He recognizes the benefits of working with Mike and Sarah Buchheit who have significant experience in this field. Contact Levi Spain today to help with your real estate needs! Phone: 563-357-3621 Email: SpainL@Central.edu

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” -Henry Ford The Think Tank Investment decisions can be intimidating, especially as dollar amounts increase. However, when they are made correctly, risks are limited and the rewards are maximized. After working with more than 40 investment properties, Mike and Sarah Buchheit understand this concept well. Over the years they have connected with many individuals with a genuine interest in real estate investing. However, often times these individuals have little knowledge on how to begin. These interactions inspired a potential “think tank” that could provide interested parties with insights on the Pella real estate market and encourage investment. As the Buchheit’s launched Pella Real Estate Services (PRES), the “think tank” became one of the five main business goals. Through strategic planning and organization the idea materialized and became the REAL investor groups (“Real Estate and Learning”). “None of us is as smart as all of us.” -Ken Blanchard REAL Investor Groups The first meeting was held in May of 2017. Since then, the group of six has met on a monthly basis. Meeting agendas highlight: Investment opportunities and needs around the community Metrics that define a low risk, high reward investment State of the market Information on Sheriff sales (distressed property auctions) and tax sales (forced sale of a property) Updates on current investment projects. “Overall there are a lot of positives going on with the current group. Discussions are always productive and informative. In the future we hope to incorporate resources like attorneys, contractors, developers, appraisers, hard money investors, and lenders to further educate.” -Sarah Buchheit Goal: add one REAL group of investors per year until five groups or up to 30-50 investors have formed. Greater collaboration among investors in the community will increase the amount of good investments made, and ultimately lead to very positive additions to the Pella area.